A travel company has unleashed its wrath over a new rule set to rock Majorca, which will limit the size of guided walking tours to only 20 people. The Balearic Islands’ Travel Agencies Business Association (Aviba) lashed out at the restriction as ‘disproportionate’ and ‘nonsensical’.
Aviba’s boss Pedro Fiol announced: “If this is implemented, you can be sure that we will stop bringing tourists to the city of Palma. Operationally, it would be unfeasible and very costly.”
Fiol further expressed dismay, explaining that Aviba was ‘not consulted’ about the change and the rule was absent from earlier drafts. It emerged as a bolt from the blue during a Wednesday briefing (November 27).
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While they have permission for groups of up to 70, Aviba claims their standard tour numbers hover around 50.
Mr Fiol has raised concerns about the impact of cutting tour group sizes to just 20 people, suggesting that such measures would drive up costs and put additional financial strains on visitors at the very destinations they are coming to enjoy. He’s said to view the new proposals as demonstrating a ‘lack of understanding’ in relation to how tours commonly cross various local jurisdictions.
Moreover, Mr Fiol pointed out: “Currently, we have many problems conducting excursions because we don’t have guides; we don’t understand how they will now demand we double the number.”
Adding to the complications, Aviba has called attention to the shortage of official guide roles, highlighting that no new positions have opened for the past 16 years—though there’s talk that Mallorca’s Council might address this in the following year.
The situation is unfolding against a backdrop of attempts to boost tourism in Majorca while contending with activists who are encouraging holidaymakers to avoid the overpopulated spot. Amid rising protests over unsustainable tourism levels on the island in the heart of the Mediterranean, there’s an increasing plea from locals for more effective management of the influx of visitors.